Best Buy Education: Your Education Technology Partner

It absolutely amazes me how tech-savvy children are today. Every day I read articles discussing how different technology is being used in education. From Minecraft to Wideo, there are thousands of applications, websites, and devices that are now available to make learning fun and easier. In fact, technology is so closely linked to education these days that you can find many websites dedicated only to using technology in education. Even in our own homeschool classes, technology plays a significant role.

Do you use technology in your classroom? If not, discover how the latest technology can transform your classroom. Can you imagine what it would be like if you could provide each of your students with a classroom tablet or laptop and use some of the amazing apps now available to teach your students how to read, spell, count, multiply, and more....in English and Spanish?

Most young people today are growing up with technology and are using it in every aspect of their lives. School should be no exception.

With the right devices, students can:

• Read, research and take notes
• Learn at their own pace
• Prepare and edit assignments more efficiently
• Communicate and collaborate on projects with ease
• Master technology skills that prepare them for future educational endeavors and careers

Best Buy Education believes every student should have access to technology. They offer a wide variety of tablets, laptops and chrome devices for classroom use, and have partnered with schools around the country to provide technology they need to succeed. They also offer on-site Geek Squad® training and support for students and faculty.

Their dedicated Account Managers will consult with you, offer knowledgeable, unbiased advice and guide you to the product and service solutions that best meet your needs and budget. Whether you are rolling out new devices in the classroom, launching a BYOD initiative, or upgrading the technology throughout your school, they can provide the products, support and protection you need.

You can enter for a chance to win $25,000 in Best Buy Credit to upgrade your classroom devices! If you could use some help with acquiring new technology to use with your students and make learning more fun, easier, and modern, don't miss this great opportunity!

If you are attending ISTE Conference and Expo on June 28 – July 1, Best Buy Education will be in booth #2262. Make sure you stop by and check out the daily demonstrations being held throughout the conference.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with Best Buy. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Best Buy Education Opportunity to Win $25K for Classroom Technology

© Tyler Olson

Many of MommyMaestra readers are educators in bilingual or dual immersion settings, parents with children in a low-income school, or parent of students in dual immersion schools. If you are one of these, then I really want you to know about this opportunity from Best Buy Education (BBE).

Best Buy Education is currently offering a generous sweepstakes open to all educators and administrators. It runs from now through July 4, 2015 with a grand prize of $25,000 in Best Buy credit, as well as additional prizes of Gift Cards and Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablets with keyboards. If your (child's) school could benefit from adding or upgrading technology/devices in the classrooms, then this is a great opportunity to win the technology tools and services your students or child's school need to succeed. Think about all the fabulous educational apps that are now on the market that make concept learning easier!

Unfortunately, this sweepstakes is not open to homeschoolers or preschools. 

Click here to enter for a chance to win and view complete details.

Best Buy Education is a direct-channel division of Best Buy®. They make it easier than ever to give students the tech tools they need to succeed. Their dedicated Account Managers will consult with you, offer knowledgeable, unbiased advice and guide you to the product and service solutions that best meet your needs and budget. Whether you are rolling out new devices in the classroom, launching a Bring Your own Device initiative, or upgrading the technology throughout your school, they can provide the products, support and protection you need.

Best of luck to your school!!!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions, however, are my own. 

Best Buy's LatIN Employee Business Network Relaunches with Force

Geek Squad Academy - photo courtesy of Best Buy

You may remember that last year I was a brand ambassador for Best Buy. It was a great experience and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity. Last week I was honored to speak on a panel for Best Buy's LatIN Employee Business Network. The program is one of the company's groups that promote diversity and inclusion. LatIN has recently fired up to become a resource for Best Buy Latino employees that helps them with their personal and professional development.

I had the chance to have lunch with two of LatIN's committee chairs. I found them to be full of youthful energy and enthusiasm for their EBN and eager to develop programs that give back to the Latino community. One of them - Brittani Uribe- actually works with Geek Squad Academy, which brings summer camps to at-risk children ages 9 to 18 in over 70 cities across the nation FOR FREE. The two-day camp curriculum covers a wide variety of subjects, including PC repair, robotics, digital literacy, online safety, digital video editing, and even basic programming.

In fact, they are currently accepting applications for their 2015 summer programming. If you are interested in hosting a camp in your community, you can apply here. There must be a minimum of 100 students (maximum 200) who will participate in the two-day camp. Brittani was actually one of the first Academy students served in Houston back when the program officially launched.

But the LatIN EBN is also making a difference in the lives of students in their local communities outside of official programs like Geek Squad Academy. In fact, Brittani and Andrew told me about how they recently helped to help convert 700 iPads from English to Spanish at a Spanish immersion K-5 school in Minnesota. The iPads are assigned to each student but remain on school grounds to be used during class time.

And children aren't the only ones benefitting from LatIN's community outreach. They also have an after-hours program for Latino health that provides classes for recent immigrants to help make the transition easier for them.

The panel that I participated in was designed to encourage and inspire both Latino and non-Latino employees and management. The other panelists consisted of Best Buy employees; all of them Latino, but with diverse backgrounds such as Peru and Mexico. The moderator asked about the benefits and challenges of being bicultural and bilingual, and how we bring our whole selves to work each day. I wonder how many Latinos in this country understand their value? Do we realize how important our bicultural experiences are to our success?

With Latinos over-indexing in technology and social media, it came as no surprise to learn that some of Best Buy's most successful stores are actually found in Latino communities in Florida and California. So I'm hopeful that the company realizes that NOW is the time to recruit Latino youth who are already tech savvy and can successfully communicate with and educate our community. I hope they continue to support their Latino employees, which are an invaluable asset, and that they also invest in our communities because by doing so, they benefit not just Best Buy, but our nation as a whole.

The Millenial generation is set to advance. Studies show that Latinos are more likely to start a business than the general market, and they are more likely to successfully grow a business. In today's world, that isn't possible without the use of technology and our youth only need a little more education and guidance in this area to blossom.

I am hopeful that companies like Best Buy will see the opportunities we provide and help us succeed so that our entire nation might benefit.

Disclosure: I was compensated for speaking on the LatIN panel. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Fighting Asthma and Allergies with the New Dyson Animal + Allergy from Best Buy

This post is sponsored by Dyson and Best Buy and includes a review of the new Dyson Animal + Allergy.

There is nothing scarier than waking up in the middle of the night to find your child gasping for breath beside your bed. I'll never forget the time my son came tripping down the stairs at 2 am clutching his throat and trying to breathe. He has long struggled with allergies and is borderline asthmatic.

Did you know that Latino families are more likely to be affected by asthma than any other group? According to the Environmental Defense Fund, "Latino children are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino whites, and nearly 1 in 10 Latino children under the age of 18 suffer from this chronic respiratory illness."

Indoor and outdoor air quality plays a major role. We live on a small farm in the country and our home has a lot of carpeting. Every day someone is tracking in dirt and who knows what. In the spring, pollen and dust come wafting in every time somebody opens the door. My kids spend time playing with the horses and dog , then come in covered in hair. I'd love to be able to just rip the carpet out and finish the wood floors underneath. One of these days I will. But in the meantime, I have to try and stay up with vacuuming, changing the air filters on a regular basis, and dusting.

You might remember me posting a year or so ago about how I started using a Dyson to vacuum. It has made such a difference! While I've been thrilled about the easy way to dump everything in the trash without having to buy those little vacuum bags, I still had to was filters on a regular basis, which I wasn't that crazy about.

But now, there's a solution for even that. The new Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal + Allergy is a new tool for parents in the line of defense against pollen and other allergens.

It's the first vacuum cleaner to never lose suction and that requires NO FILTER MAINTENANCE!! Dyson was the first to get rid of the bag and now they’re getting rid of the filter. Sometimes I absolutely love advances in technology.

Even with the relatively new Dyson I had before, I had to rinse the filter because it would eventually stop sucking up dirt. Sometimes it would get clogged with hair and paper and leaves and pine needles so I'd have to take it apart to clean out the suction line. Not anymore! Here's how it works:

Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal + Allergy

• New Cinetic cyclones are smallest yet, so they can spin out the finest dust and dirt. They oscillate to dislodge any particles that would typically get stuck in a cyclone that small.
• Cinetic cyclones allow for dust capture so small, that a filter becomes unnecessary. Thus, there are no dirty filters to wash, maintain or replace.
• Tested and proven with 10 years’ worth of dust. (Others claim “no loss of suction” by only testing one bin full of dust. Dyson used the equivalent of 10 years’ worth, and Dyson Cinetic never lost suction.)
• Cleaner head self-adjusts to seal in suction across carpets and hard floors.

It also comes with an assortment of attachments to help you clean those hard to reach spots. My absolute favorite is that little curved one in the middle left. You just snap it on to the extension hose and then use it to suck up all the dust that gathers on top of your ceiling fan blades or the top of your bookshelves. It is simply awesome. 

I'll tell you right now that it is a little pricey. It's valued at $699. But Dysons last forever so I consider it a worthy investment not just in keeping my house clean, but in my family's health. I'd rather invest in this vacuum than pay ER bills when I have to take my son in because he can't breathe. I know that using this vacuum doesn't guarantee that will never happen, but it makes me feel better knowing that I'm able to suck up and toss out those allergens that wreak havoc on his little respiratory system. And combined with other steps such as washing his bedsheet regularly and staying away from harsh perfumes and detergents, it is simply one of the steps I take to ensure my family's health.

If you feel the same way, or if you suffer from asthma or allergies yourself, you'll be able to find this model at Best Buy stores starting on March 1st. 

Disclosure: I received this product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are strictly mine.

Do You Know About Best Buy Education?

This is a sponsored post.

I've often written about the role of technology in education and mentioned that even as a homeschool mom, I spend a lot of time thinking about what kind and how much tech I want to use in our daily lessons. By now you know that I rely on Best Buy to supply most of my homeschooling tech needs. But even with all my research, there are times when I still need some guidance, time when I have questions about the the technology and I need someone who is knowledgeable to answer them. Luckily, my local store has staff available to help me when I need it.

I'm aware that there are many educators (not just homeschoolers!) who follow this blog. If you are a teacher, did you know that Best Buy has a direct channel division dedicated to providing end-to-end learning solutions for K-12 Education? They are there to provide educators with the right advice, technology, service, and support.

Best Buy helps you build the right solution for your school

• Knowledgeable Advice
A dedicated Education Account Manager will consult with you, provide unbiased advice and guide you to the right solutions for your school. You’ll have one point of contact and get the personal attention you need every step of the way.

• The Latest Devices
Partner with Best Buy to outfit your classrooms and offices with the latest education technology from top manufacturers you trust.
    - Chromebooks, laptops, tablets, touch screen displays, printers, charging carts, advanced A/V

• Expert Service
Their team of professionals will assess your technology needs and provide all the services you require, including installation, asset tagging, device management and more.

• Professional Support
From pre-sales engineering to post-sales support and training, They'll help you manage your technology and protect your investment.
     - Geek Squad® Support, Geek Squad Protection, training and professional development

They'll help you choose the right platform for your classroom

• Chromebooks and Chrome management
• Android devices
• Windows-based solutions

Are you planning on attending FETC in Orlando, January 20-23? If so, be sure to stop by the Best Buy Education Booth #131. They'll be featuring daily demos and guest speakers from Google, MakerBot, EdTeach, Amplified IT and Ergotron. You can talk with them about your school’s technology needs and they'll answer any questions you may have.

Disclaimer: I am a Best Buy Brand Ambassador and have been compensated for sharing this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Teaching Kids About Giving with Frigidaire & Best Buy

This is a sponsored post.

With Christmas and the opening of gifts less than a week away, I am still working on teaching my children to focus on those less fortunate and develop their Spirit of Giving. Over the last month or more we've worked on handmade gifts for our family and friends, we've also tried to spread the message about non-profits across the country who do so much good in their communities, and even donated some of our earnings to a few of them. Today I want to talk about how you can help your local community.

I know that during the holidays, there are usually lots of fabulous deals on major appliances. Perhaps you are planning on buying one for yourself or maybe for los abuelos? Or maybe, as the end of the year approaches, you are already thinking about making some tax-deductible donations to help you when tax time rolls around in a few months. Or maybe you just want to help teach your children about the spirit of giving to those who have less.

If so, I want to encourage you to think about donating a new or gently used appliance to your local chuches, food pantries, and community centers who serve at-risk families.

I'm so thankful that this year, Best Buy and Frigidaire made it possible for me to donate a new Frigidaire Gallery 30" Induction Range to our local church. The church is located in a low-income neighborhood and during the spring and summer months feeds some of the poor and homeless in the community. It's been bothering me so much that the equipment in their kitchen is badly outdated. I'm not sure what type of oven they had, but it was badly rusted. It had a double oven (one on top and one on bottom) and the bottom one didn't even work, neither did one of the stovetop elements and one of the knobs didn't even match the stove! I don't know how they managed to cook on that thing.

Anyway, we asked them if they would accept the donation of a stove and they readily agreed. The new Induction Range was a big deal for everyone! The new technology took a bit of figuring out, but it is so efficient now and makes cooking meals easy. The biggest difference is the induction range, which transfers heat directly to the cookware leaving the cooktop cooler to the touch so your spills don't burn and stick!

The only thing is, though, that not all pots and pans work on the stove. Since the heat is transferred magnetically, you have to use stainless steel pots (Note: not all stainless steel works!). But we got this 10-piece set of reasonably priced cookware which works beautifully. (Psst! Lots of department stores have this on sale during the holidays!)

Anyway, the induction range comes with five cooktop elements, including a food warmer, so if your bread/soup/vegetables are finished before the roast, you can still keep them warm. There are various settings, but one of the best features is the power boost that allows you to boil water in under 2 minutes! (Champurrado, anyone?)

And the oven! It's fantastic. You can choose from a normal baking setting or the convection oven, which circulates the air prefectly around your food, cooking it faster and more evenly. It also comes with a delay-bake, which allows you to program the time to start baking at a certain time in case you want it to start warming up while you are driving home from work/school/shopping or are otherwise busy.

It also comes with an Effortless™ Temperature Probe that allows you to set the desired finished temperature and alerts you when that temperature has been reached. The oven then holds the desired temperature of the meat by switching to a keep warm function for better cooking results. How crazy wonderful is that?

All of these features make it easy to create large meals when feeding a lot of people.

Here's a video to show you exactly what I've been trying to describe:

The church members were so thrilled with the new stove and we immediately tried it out with a few dishes... which came out beautifully, I might add. 

I was so happy that my daughter had the opportunity to experience this moment of giving so that she could learn how important it is to give selflessly to others and help make a difference in someone's life. And I hope it made her realize that it's important to think about purchasing big-ticket items for others (not just ourselves), such as non-profits, churches, cultural centers, and other organizations who play a vital role in a community.

Now we just need to get them a new refrigerator!

May your holidays be filled with loving and giving.

Disclosure: I am a Best Buy Brand Ambassador and was compensated for this post. However, all thoughts and opinions listed above are stictly my own. 

Gift Giving with Nikon from Best Buy

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

Last week I shared with you three cameras for photography students and one of them was a Nikon. If you read that post then you know that I've been a Nikon gal for a very long time - at least 15 years, but probably longer than that! The reason is that it is a professional camera that gives me awesome photographs every time. I can use them for work, but more importantly, I can use it to capture images of my family, friends, and life that I want to remember forever. What's more, I can use these photographs as part of my gift giving.

This week I want to focus on handmade or custom-designed gift giving. And I want to start off with gifts for the abuelos. I have a horrible time thinking of gifts to give my parents each year. They have everything, really, and when I ask them what they'd like, they always say, "Oh, nothing. Don't spend your money." Ugh.

Does that sound like your parents?

But I know that I can't go wrong when the gift is made by or about my children. And I imagine that most grandparents are delighted with gifts that have something to do with their grandchildren. Which is one of the many reasons why photography plays such an important role in our lives. Since we live so far from los abuelos, photographs make it possible for me to share important moments in my children's lives with my parents and in-laws.

We have given everything from personalized photo calendars to photo albums to personalized mugs and mouse pads. Sometimes we just send a framed photo. It doesn't matter what I send, because as long as it includes a photograph, it is a hit.

But these quality gifts deserve quality images and for those I can rely on my Nikon.

Last month, I had the opportunity to upgrade my Nikon D3000 with the new Nikon D3300 and it is FABULOUS. Everytime I upgrade, I'm thrilled with all the new features.

The Nikon D3300 comes with an AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm lens for capturing great images up close or further away. The ISO 100-12,800 is great for getting good pictures even in low light conditions. It is fun and easy to use. In addition to the regular photo modes (portrait, action, close-up, landscape, etc.), it also has a Special Effects feature that includes:

• Night vision
• Super vivid
• POP
• Photo illustration (SO cool!)
• Color sketch
• Toy camera effect
• Miniature effect
• Selective color (I ♥ ♥ ♥ it!!)
• Silhouette
• Hi Key
• Low key
• HDR painting
• Easy panorama (I wish I'd had this at the Grand Canyon!)

It is absolutely amazing. I'm still experimenting with all of these, but what I love best so far is the Enhanced Guide Mode that allows me to take a photograph and then go back and crop or apply special effects (such as soften, selective color, photo illustration, and more) to photos I took in the past.

As a parent, I also love that the cold- and shock-resistant design shields the camera against accidental drops and the elements.

For me, the best part of my latest upgrade is the WiFi connectivity, because I love to share my favorite pictures via my personal Facebook page or on Instagram. I can now do that (I never could before!) thanks to the Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1a. This awesome little tool just plugs in to your Nikon and transfers images directly from your camera/SD card to your smartphone so you can share your pics on your social media. You can attach it directly to your camera strap so that when you are ready to use it, you just pop it out of its little case and plug it in. It works with the Nikon WMU app that you download (for free) to your camera and the best part is that you can even control your camera with it and use your smartphone to see what you camera sees and even take the picture from far away. So if you want to take a family portrait shot (and be in the picture, too!) you can set up the camera and then go sit in the shot and take the picture by simply pushing a button on your smartphone. Awesome!!

If you or your husband are avid photographers capturing the beautiful moments in your every day lives, but you only have a little point-and-shoot camera, then consider upgrading to a Nikon. Not only is it a valuable gift for the you, but also for those around you who will benefit from all the amazing memories you preserve at the click of a shutter!

Disclosure: I am a Best Buy Brand Ambassador and received product for the purposes of this review. However, all thoughts and opinions are strictly my own!

3 Cameras for Photography Students

Do you have a budding photographer in your family? Has the time come for you to think about (and perhaps invest in) a high-quality camera for your tween or teen? If so, the holidays are the perfect time to surprise your photography student with the tool they'll enjoy most: a new camera or camcorder. Below are three amazing cameras that are now available.

This post contains affiliate links.

Beginner Cameras for Kids

Kodak PIXPRO Astro Zoom AZ401-BK 16MP Digital Camera with 40X Optical Zoom and 3" LCD

This is a fantastic, budget-friendly camera that's easy to learn, easy to use. The new Kodak PIXPRO AZ401 digital camera is part of their Astro zoom collection. 

Comes with a 40x Ultra long zoom lens with optical image stabilization delivers crisp, clear 16 Megapixel close-ups, 180 Degree Panorama or HD videos with the switch of a button. Object tracking, post-editing features and a host of powerful yet intuitive settings make photography with this Camera effortless, entertaining and frustration-free. 

VJIANGER 4K Digital Camera 48MP Pixel Manual Focus Vlogging Camera

This 4K small digital camera with 5*3*2(IN) size is so lightweight and portable. The camcorder is designed for amateurs, not for professional cameras. Simple and convenient operation makes it an ideal camera gift for beginners, kids, teens, students, elderly to take pictures and shoot, a perfect gift to your family, friends and leaders for festivals, sports events, weddings, parties and important events, a perfect graduation gift for them to record their precious youth.

Features:

• Video Resolution: 4K_3840X2160 (30FPS)
• Photo Resolution: 48MP, 30MP, 24MP, 12MP, 8MP, 5MP, 3MP
• Video/Photo Format:MP4/JPG
• Display screen: 3.0 inch ultra HD 180 degree flip screen
• Storage: TF card up to 256GB / Class10
• Digital zoom: 16x digital zoom
• Lens: Fixed lens F/3.2，f=7.36mm
• Battery: Two NP-40 / 1500mAh lithium-ion batteries can work 2- 3H, 2-3H Charging time

Sony Alpha α6000 Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera

You'll love this compact system camera with the world’s fastest autofocus. This Sony Alpha A6000 features a 24.3-megapixel, Exmor APS-C CMOS sensor that makes it easy to shoot scenes in stunning clarity. I like the fact that you can manipulate the display to review your photographs comfortably. I also love Sony lenses because they are probably the best ones on the market for taking good photos in low-light situations without a flash. So if your child takes a lot of indoor photos, consider buying him or her a Sony camera.

It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi that lets you share stored content across devices.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Teaching Photography to Kids: The First 5 Steps
  
  
• Photography Tips, Lessons, and Activities for Children
  
  
• Six Tips for Creating Your Own Yearbooks

Document Your Homeschool Adventures with GoPro

I think I've mentioned before how much I want a GoPro camera. It's been on my wish list for over a year now. I haven't found any other action cameras that meet all the requirements I have in my head. 

The reason I want one is because we like to travel. From local homeschool field trips to family adventures across the country, there are so many memories I wish I could capture with an action camera instead of just my (still awesome) digital.

For example, last month we visited the Sonoran Desert Museum, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. It was the trip of a lifetime, and while I took a lot of amazing photographs, can you just imagine how amazing the following moments would have been on video? 

I don't know if it is just me, but every homeschooling family that I know spends a lot of time documenting their adventures. So if you are a homeschooling mom like me, or even a mom with children in a traditional school setting, and you are looking to upgrade your current video camera - why not give a real action camera a try?

I'm SO geeked that the full line of new GoPro cameras, plus a broad assortment of accessories, are available at Best Buy. They even have three new cameras that are now out: 

GoPro HERO4 Black: The most advanced GoPro ever, featuring improved image quality and a 2x more powerful processor with 2x faster video frame rates1, HERO4 Black takes award‐winning GoPro performance to a whole new level.

GoPro HERO4 Silver: The first-ever GoPro to feature a built-in touch display. Controlling the camera, playing back footage, and adjusting settings is ultra-convenient—just view, tap, and swipe the screen. With 1080p60 and 720p120 video, and 12MP photos at a staggering 30 frames per second, HERO4 Silver combines powerful, pro-quality capture with the convenience of a touch display.

GoPro HERO: Featuring high‐quality 1080p30 and 720p60 video, and 5MP photos up to 5 fps, HERO captures the same immersive footage that’s made GoPro one of the best-selling cameras in the world.

If you are a parent like me, this would be a great holiday gift for yourself...or your spouse... or even your teen!

Learn more at www.bestbuy.com/GoPro or visit your local Best Buy to check out the latest cameras in person.

Disclosure: I'm a Best Buy Brand Ambassador which allows me to share news about upcoming events with you! I was compensated for this post, however, all thoughts and opinions shared above are strictly my own. 

Prep for the Holidays with Appliances from Best Buy

© BlueOrange Studio - Fotolia.com

This is a sponsored post.

It is just so hard for me to believe that the holiday season is upon us! We only have a few weeks until Halloween & Día de los Muertos, followed closely by Thanksgiving, Las Posadas, and Christmas.

This year, one of the books we're using is A Child's Geography by Ann Voskamp. I love the lessons because in addition to teaching the kids about the world we live in, it calls on us to do acts of service for the people we love and those who live nearby. There is a lot of cooking, baking, and more going on over here as we prepare meals for friends and neighbors.

This week we're working on making pan de muerto for the first time ever, too, since I've partnered with our local library to do a class on Día de los Muertos and set up an ofrenda! We shopped all afternoon for supplies. And each year, our homeschool group usually gets together to decorate holiday cookies. It's one of our favorite events of the holiday season. So my kitchen is seeing a lot of action between now and the end of the year.

To prepare for all the activity, I've also been doing a lot of remodeling in my house over the last few months. It's nothing major, mostly taping & bedding, painting, and wallpapering. I'm in the middle of finishing a new pantry my husband built for me in our kitchen. It is SO great to have storage space for food, tools, and the appliances that I don't use everyday! All my cookie cutters (I have a LOT) finally have a place of their own where they wait patiently for December to roll around.

This year, I'm hoping to host the cookie decorating party at our house. My kids have been begging to have everyone over so they can decorate and eat and play and decorate some more. I'm also toying with the idea of hosting a posada at our house one day. I just can't decide if I'm ready to pull that one off, though, as no one here knows anything about it. So it might be a little hard to arrange without practice.

Needless to say, as part of my kitchen upgrade, I'm playing with the idea getting a mixer and a new stove. Best Buy has a Frigidaire FGIF3061NF that has one of those convection ovens that reduces your baking time, and a Whirlpool with a double over (my greatest dream!) so you can cook two dishes at different temperatures at the same time! Can you imagine how much time that would save?? That gives me more time to spend eating decorating cookies. :)

At the same time, though, our local church has been feeding low-income residents once or twice a month. One thing that is really important to me is for our kids to see the needs in our communities and give support when they are able. I'd love for us to be able to cook and contribute food, or even buy an oven for their kitchen - which is horribly outdated and desperately needs improvements made to meet the needs of their program. I want to nurture my children's sense of compassion and doing social good.

If you are looking for ways to streamline your own party hosting, or are ready to upgrade your kitchen before the holidays hit, or even if you are looking to give back to your community by supporting your local non-profits - Best Buy has some great ideas. You can read more about them on their website Holiday Prep page.

Disclosure: I'm a Best Buy Ambassador, which allows me to share with you special deals and information like this. I was compensated for this post, but all opinions, thoughts, and stories are completely my own!

The Nintendo 2DS Game System & Tomodachi Life at Best Buy {GIVEAWAY}

This is a sponsored post.

In today's technological world, I suppose it is inevitable that our kids will one day ask for some sort of gaming system. Mine have. And rather than deny them the opportunity to play games until they are older, I'm trying to help them develop healthy habits when it comes to technology and digital games.

For me, this means helping them learn that playing games and apps for pure entertainment is okay, so long as they show self-control and make wise decisions. In other words, they aren't allowed to just sit and play games mindlessly for hours. They can play for a reasonable amount of time (30-45 minutes) and then they must go read a book, play outside, or do some other sort of activity. But FIRST, they have to make sure that all of their school work is done. I don't mind them playing hard so long as they work hard, too.

I have to admit that they don't have very many games or apps that are simply for pure entertainment. I have an unspoken rule that most of the apps on my tablet are educational in nature. I've downloaded a couple of games before, but I'd really rather keep those separate from that device.

Enter the new Nintendo 2DS Game System. 

It's a good choice for anyone (including children) buying their first portable gaming device. It plays over 2,100 Nintendo DS, 3DS, and eShop games in 2D. The 2DS is lightweight and easy to slip into a purse or backpack. (I would, however, recommend getting a screen protector.) It comes with a built in camera, too.

Personally, I don't like playing 3D games (or watching 3D movies!) and neither do my children, so I really appreciate that you can play 3DS games on this system without those 3D effects.

And guess what? This Labor Day weekend only, you can get the 2DS for only $99 online at Best Buy.com!

If you don't really like your child playing games such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf, New Super Mario Bros. 2 or The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, then you might like to know that he can also use it to learn art techniques with Art Academy.

If you ARE looking for games, then I must tell you that when I was growing up, I desperately wanted the board game, LIFE. I played it at my cousins' house and had a blast then drove my mother crazy asking for my own game.

Well, Tomodachi Life is similar. The game takes you to an island where you can create your own Mii cast of characters using your family and friends, or even your favorite celebrities. Your characters can meet each other, get married, move, go shopping, have kids...you know, live LIFE! You and your kids can be surprised at the crazy things that happen and have fun while playing this game.

THE GIVEAWAY

I'm giving away one Nintendo 2DS Game System and a Tomodachi Life to one MommyMaestra reader!

To enter this giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Philips Airfryer & a Croquetas de Pollo Recipe

Since we're on the topic of planning healthy back-to-school lunches for your kids, I thought now would be a great time to share with you my current favorite kitchen gadget. If you follow my Instagram account, you know that a few weeks ago I got a Philips Airfryer. I've been wanting one ever since I happened to see a tweet from Best Buy. I was interested because I read that it fried food with at most two tablespoons of oil. It's the healthy way to fry!

Now you should probably know that against my will, we eat a lot of fried food in this house. Soft tacos, salmon patties, fried okra, chimichangas, fried potatoes...they all make their way to our table on a regular basis. So when I heard there was a new fryer on the market that fries food without you having to immerse it in hot oil, I was almost sold on the idea.

Then I actually got my hands on it.

My daughter and I have been experimenting with it and we are thrilled with the outcome. For the first time ever, I decided to try and make chicken croquetas using a very old family recipe from Spain. My Tía Visi gave it to me when I lived there for a short time after I graduated from college. The idea suddenly popped into my head after I was inspired by looking through the included cookbook and saw recipes for various croquettes. So I asked my daughter if she wanted to learn a family recipe and try out the new airfryer at the same time.  Always a willing assistant in the kitchen, she grabbed her apron and chef's hat and happily helped me with my little experiment to take that old recipe and merge it with a modern appliance.

We were all thrilled with the results!

I'm going to share my recipe below, but don't be passing it all around or I'll get in trouble for sharing it! But first, I want to tell you about the airfryer.

The Philips Airfryer

The most important thing that you know is that you don't add ANY oil to the fryer AT ALL. It uses something called Rapid Air Technology to move the air around your food quickly and precisely for faster cooking and perfect results. The starfish design on the bottom of the drawer circulates the air in some secret, magical way that makes it cook just right. In fact, it cooks so well, the little timer on the front of the model that I bought only goes up to 30 minutes because that's all you'll need to cook anything in this thing. An adjustable temperature control up to 390 degrees lets you fry, bake, roast and grill all sorts of foods.

The only oil I used was two tablespoons of EVOO that I mixed in with the breadcrumbs in which I rolled the chicken. And after only eight minutes in the airfryer, they were almost perfect!

Now, I don't claim to be a food blogger or even a good cook (as is evidenced by the picture above), but these croquetas de pollo were SO GOOD. The only mistake I made was in not tearing the chicken into small enough pieces. (Hey, it was my first time to make these.) We're making more this weekend and have already shredded our leftover chicken from some tacos we ate this evening into what I hope is the perfect-sized pieces.

Do you know what else it cooks? (Ahem. Practically everything.) It makes the BEST cheese sandwiches any of us have ever eaten! We just brush a little melted butter on the bread, then fill it with shredded cheddar, preheat the airfryer, and stick in the sandwich. Five minutes later - BING! It's done! And 5 minutes after that - Whoops! It's gone.

And do you know what the best part is? Clean up is a breeze because you can stick the food basket and the drawer directly into your dishwasher! Boom!

It also comes with a cookbook with recipes for different types of low-fat fried dishes things like potato croquettes, crispy fried spring rolls, bacon wrapped shrimp, cod nuggets, chicken tenders, french fries, and more. The recipes showcase the versatility of the appliance so that you can grill, bake and even roast food healthier, faster and more conveniently.

You can find a ton of videos on YouTube about cooking with the Philips Airfryer, but this one is my favorite. I'm dying to try and cook a steak in it!

Tía Visi's croquetas de pollo

And now! Just in case you'd like to try your hand at making my Tía Visi's croquetas de pollo from my family in Spain, here's a little recipe I modified to be used in our airfryer. They are so good, you will never look at croquetas the same again? Click on the picture below to download/print the file.

Abrazo!

Disclosure: I received product for the purposes of this review. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own. 

Homeschoolers: Get Ready for Back to School with August Audio Fest at Best Buy!

If you are a homeschooling family like ours, then the following scenario is probably pretty familiar:

After finishing their math and grammar lessons on the computer in the "school" room, my kids grabs their reading assignments and curls up on the couch. When she finishes reading, my daughter turns on her favorite Beatles CD for a little background music, and then they move into the kitchen for a science experiment. When they completes that, they gets out their art supplies at the dining room table for their art lesson.  The two of them work steadily while listening to their classical music selection for the week and then break for lunch. After lunch we move back into the school room for some Spanish, then my two might wrap up the school day back on the couch listening to an audiobook.

Can you relate even a little bit? In addition to doing, there's one thing my kids do a lot of during the school year: listening.  

So it's important to me that we have good equipment to facilitate my kids' learning. 

That's why I want to be sure and let you know about the August Audio Fest at Best Buy. It starts today - August 3rd - and features one month of audio deal specials for you to take advantage of! You can visit any of their stores and test out the latest and greatest audio products, including Bluetooth speakers and headphones (great when you teach two kids at the same time and one of them is listening to their math/science lesson on the computer) to car audio (we listen to audiobooks on the road, too!) and home theater solutions such as Denon's HEOS wireless speaker.

The HEOS is a wireless multi-room sound system for your whole home. It doesn't matter where you are, if you have a speaker in that room, it will stream music from your favorite internet radio service (Spotify? Deezer? Tunein? Napster?) or your own music collection, including songs stored on your iOS or Android phone or tablet.

If you download MP3s for school, such as audiobooks or classical music, your kids can enjoy them anywhere in the house, even in their own rooms at bedtime.

The HEOS speakers come in several sizes to accomodate smaller or larger rooms. The free HEOS app lets you control the speaker from your smartphone or tablet, too, so you don't have place the speaker in a spot that is easily accessible by little fingers. 

You can even buy multiple speakers to place in several rooms of your house and then connect them wirelessly to enjoy music and more throughout your home. And if you have a wired network, no problem. It comes with an ethernet port for you to hook up!

I want to leave you with a short list of some of my favorite audiobook and music MP3 download websites. Some of them are free!

• Maestro Classics 
• Kiddie Records Weekly
• MusOpen
• ClassicCat
• LibriVox
• Books Should Be Free
• Kids Know It - Educational Songs
• Children's Vinyl Record Series

Disclosure: I'm a Best Buy Ambassador which grants me early access to information on special deals that I can share with all of you. I received a Denon for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions though are my own. 

Homeschool Mom Must-Have: The Sony QX10

This is a sponsored post.

As a homeschooling mami, I have a lot of roles. I'm a teacher, cafeteria worker, coach, bus (van) driver, and even the yearbook photographer. The latter job requires me taking a LOT of pictures to document our school year and their unique learning experiences, which I later layout in a yearbook.

So one of my most valued tools is my camera. I've had a dSLR camera ever since I can remember. But it has always been a difficult beast because it's so big and requires me to use a camera bag to tote around. After I got a smartphone, I started using that one a lot more. The pictures were great, but maybe not quite as great as my dSLR.

And then the Sony QX10 entered my life.

Wow! I love this little camera. Mamas, this little lens-style camera attaches to most iOS and Android phones. I used it with my Samsung Galaxy. It just slides right onto the phone and then works with the PlayMemories Mobile app.

I just turn on the camera and run the app and I can then take the most amazing pictures. You can use the screen to zoom in or out and snap the picture, or you can use the buttons on the camera attachment itself. (See picture at the bottom of this post) Oh, and the zoom! It is unbelievable. I decided to take a picture outside my dirty kitchen window of a beautiful Summer Tanager bathing in the birdbath in my hummingbird garden, and I couldn't believe how sharp the picture came out! This is not only zoomed 20 feet or more, but cropped and enlarged. Isn't that crazy?

And you know what? You don't even have to attach the camera to your phone! If you are trying to take a photo of something in a hard-to-reach place, you can just start the camera and the app by waving the phone over the camera and it turns on. Then you simply place the camera wherever you want and snap the picture using your phone. Maybe you want to take a pic of your kids riding a mechanical bull (I did this weekend) but there is someone standing in front of you. No problem! Just turn on your camera & app, then raise the camera above your head while looking down at your smartphone screen, from which you can control the lens and snap the picture.

The images I love stay stored in my phone's gallery, too And I can also email them to myself, or share them via social media.

I thought the Samsung phone took great pictures, but they don't compare to the ones taken by the QX10. The colors are vivid and sharp, even in low light. I actually prefer to use this camera inside when low-light conditions exist so that I can get the best picture without washing the colors out with a flash. (See my Instagram acct for examples.) The Optical SteadyShot helps reduce blur from unsteady hands and low light situations. In fact, it is because of this camera that I finally opened an Instagram account. I couldn't resist storing and sharing pictures on the spur of the moment.

Everywhere I go, people are asking me about this camera. They've never seen anything like it and knowing it attaches to your smartphone seems to intrigue them.

So if you are considering a new camera to help you document all of your homeschooling adventures - from science experiments to field trips - and you want a step up from a point-and-shoot without the bulk of a dSLR, then THIS is totally worth considering.

If you need a little more motivation, check out this video, and this one featuring their Quick Start Guide.

You can read more about this awesome little camera here on Best Buy's website. It's currently on sale for $199.99 (you save $50), plus you get free shipping!

Disclosure: I'm a Best Buy brand ambassador and received the Sony QX10 for review purposes. No other compensation was received. All thoughts and opinions are my own. If I don't like a product, I won't write a review to promote it. 

Mami Time Saver: HP Instant Ink Available at Best Buy

This is a sponsored post.

This is part of my Mami Time Savers series.

One of the most frequent expenses I've faced as a homeschooling mom has been ink for my printer. If you are a homeschooler, I know you can sympathize. I don't have the space or the money to invest in a big, industrial printer that uses giant ink cartridges. I really prefer a desktop printer and have always preferred HPs. And because I'm big on saving SPACE (as well as time!), 3-in-one or 4-in-one printers are best in my opinion. I like that I can copy, print, scan, and/or fax from one device. 

So when I had the chance to review the HP Envy 5530 AND the HP Instant Ink Service, I agreed.

Let me tell you: It is life changing for me! First, let's talk about the printer.

The HP Envy 5530 e-All-in-One Printer

This is one of technology's greatest inventions for educators and parents. A wireless printer, the HP Envy can be accessed from ANY digital device. You can print from your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or PC. 

You don't even have to be at home! 

If you're at the library and take a photo of your kids enjoying the summer reading program, all you have to do is snap a photo and then hit print. If your printer is on at home and has wireless access, then when you get home your photo will be printed and ready to go!

Setting it up is super easy and only takes a couple of minutes. I LOVE that it prints both sides of the paper at the same time! It's not slow, either, but fast a quiet. I'm used to desktop printers that are noisy, especially when scanning. But this printer is so quiet, I thought it wasn't working when I was standing next to it waiting for it to scan a document. Only to see the screen say that the scan had already been sent to my email. Whaa?? I thought. Sure enough, my email had a scanned pdf file waiting for me.

The other thing that I have been searching for FOREVER is a borderless printing printer. Ta-da! This is it. And it prints photos beautifully! 

There are a lot of perks to owning this printer, too. When you sign up on the HP Connected website, you gain access to a LOT of free printables from brands like Highlights, Crayola, Disney, DreamWorks, Education.com, LeapFrog, and many others. You can also print recipes, calendars, puzzles, greeting cards and much, much more. And it is all FREE!

The site even keeps a log of all the files you've sent to your printer over the last month. You can print up a report if you want to keep track. 

And lastly, the site gives you access to...

HP Instant Ink Replacement Service

You will NEVER run out of ink again! This service is a goldmine. Your printer tracks your ink usage and when you get low, it notifies HP who sends you more ink in the mail.

You just select your plan...

... and ink, shipping, and recycling cartridges are included! Yes, they even provide postage-paid shipping materials to return used cartridges. HP Planet Partners will recycle them as part of your service. 

Color and black-and-white copies are the same. The monthly plans are based on the number of pages printed, not the number of cartridges you use so you can print as many high quality photos as you want. There's no annual fee and you can cancel at any time. (Psst! If you sign up now, you can get a free month of service.) Billing and service start after you insert you first HP Instant Ink cartridge.

PLUS the ink cartridges come with more ink than the ones you buy in the store (each one prints more than 500 pages), so you save a lot more moolah! I did the math. Last year I spent almost $200 in ink. If I had been on the $4.99 plan, I would have only spent $60 for the whole year! 

So, if you are like me and homeschool your kids and spend a small fortune on ink printing up worksheets, activity sheets, images, pictures, and pages out of books so you can resell them later, then THIS is definitely worth considering.

Do you have a cloud printer? Do you love it as much as I do?

Disclosure: I'm a Best Buy ambassador and received this product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions, though, are strictly my own. If I don't like a product, I simply refuse to write about it and won't think twice about returning it.